‘It’s who knows you’

As a young man, Mr. Leger served in the U.S. Navy and later worked for the Federal State Inspection Service grading fruits and vegetables. He also worked for the Georgia Department of Agriculture as manager of the Cordele Farmers Market.

Soon thereafter, Mr. Leger moved over into the private sector and formed L&M Enterprises Inc., which handled the growing, harvesting, shelling and marketing of pecans, and L&M Melon Sales Inc., which handled the growing, harvesting and marketing of watermelons. He dissolved both partnerships in 1999 to begin Leger & Son Inc. with his son Greg, and that company is still active in growing, harvesting and marketing both watermelons and pecans.

Greg Leger said one of his father’s favorite sayings was, “It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you,” and by all accounts Mr. Leger was well known on both the state and national levels. 

In fact, his work in the produce industry had him regularly interacting with high-ranking political figures as he looked to advance the important issues that affected the watermelon and pecan industries. Many of the professional relationships he forged evolved into close personal friendships that endured for years.

Mack Mattingly, former U.S. Senator from Georgia, recalled the strong bond he had with Mr. Leger that spanned for decades.

“Buddy extended friendship to me when we first met — I’m guessing at least 60 years ago — and from that moment he became one of my very best friends, and my brother,” Mattingly wrote in a tribute. “When we speak of blessings God has bestowed on us, that friendship with Buddy has been without a doubt one of the greatest in my life.”

“Buddy was my long-time good friend and he will be missed,” said Saxby Chambliss, who represented the state of Georgia as a U.S. Senator from 2003-2015 and as a U.S. congressman from 1995-2003. “He was a great patriot who loved his country and served the USA both in uniform and while in the private sector. May he rest in peace.”

From November 1988 to January 1989, Mr. Leger served on the transition team for Agriculture from the Reagan Administration to the Bush Administration. He also served on the National Council for Agriculture Research, Extension and Teaching (CARET) for the University of Georgia College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences for 23 years, and was chairman of the Advisory Council for 2005-2006.

Mr. Leger was a big supporter of the University of Georgia, and in 2006 he received the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Science (CAES) Medallion of Honor Award, the College’s highest award given annually to a friend of the College who has significantly and positively impacted teaching, research and extension.

In 2011, he was appointed to the Community Rural Development Council by then-Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal. He was also appointed as ex-officio member of the Georgia Agricultural Commodity Commission oversight group by the Georgia State Senate Ag Committee in 2012, and served on former Georgia Gov. Sonny Purdue’s Agriculture Advisory Committee as chairman of the sub-committee for education.

But the achievement that stands out among the rest was Mr. Leger’s 2012 induction into the University of Georgia College of Agriculture’s Hall of Fame, along with the installation of his picture on the wall of the College. This award represents the significant contribution and impact that Mr. Leger had on the agricultural community.

Mr. Leger was also a dedicated volunteer leader in the produce industry, having served in numerous leadership roles for both the pecan and watermelon industries.

He was president and member of the Board of Directors of the Georgia Pecan Growers Association; president of the Georgia Pecan Growers Association; president of the Georgia Pecan Distributors Association; president of the National Pecan Marketing Council; chairman of the Georgia Agricultural Commodity Commission for Pecans; and member of the Board of Directors of the Federated Pecan Association.

In the watermelon industry Mr. Leger was especially revered, garnering awards and recognition for his many contributions while serving in volunteer leadership roles, including as president of the Georgia Watermelon Association; president and Chairman of the Board of the Georgia Watermelon Association; member of the Executive Council of the National Watermelon Association; and, notably, he was the first president of the National Watermelon Research & Promotion Board (now known as the National Watermelon Promotion Board).

In 1979, 1986 and 1990, he received the National Watermelon Association Outstanding Service Award, a national award that is the highest recognition given by NWA and is reserved for those individuals who have made a significant impact on and/or contribution to the watermelon industry.

Foundation remains strong

Anyone who works in produce industry is intimately familiar with how things can change at a moment’s notice, and the fact that Mr. Leger was able to adapt to changes in the industry was no small feat, according to Greg Leger, who said his father was very much a man of routine.

“Church on Sundays, steak for dinner,” Greg Leger said of his father’s two favorite routines, which were surpassed only by his love for his daily work routine.

Greg Leger said his father’s staunch adherence to the familiar was something of a hurdle that had to be overcome in the business world, especially in the ever-changing produce industry.

“I remember the watermelon industry was trending from bulk to bins, which was a major change at the time when it was happening,” he said. “And when seedless melons began overtaking seeded melons in popularity – that was a tough one for him to get his arms around. But I was finally able to convince him that was the future of the industry and he eventually came around, but not before holding out for some time.”

It was around that time that Buddy Leger recognized the need for a new and different perspective, and he began ceding more control of the business to his son.

“As the industry continued to change, he stepped back more and let me carry the torch,” said Greg Leger. “I then bought out my dad’s interest in the business and began making my own decisions. But the foundation of what he taught me remains strong to this day.”

‘Tons of connections’

Mark Arney, chief executive officer of the National Watermelon Promotion Board, recalled first meeting Mr. Leger at a Produce Marketing Association convention in the late 1980s, which Arney was attending as CEO of the Michigan Apple Committee.

“Buddy was on a search committee that was seeking a president for the National Watermelon Promotion Board and he approached me with the opportunity,” said Arney. “At the time, I didn’t know much about watermelons and my two kids were in middle school and kindergarten, so I declined. In retrospect, had I known it meant relocating to Orlando from Michigan, we might have done things differently!”

Arney said another opportunity to join NWPB came several years later when he was leaving the Michigan Apple Committee, and he seized it. From there, his friendship with Mr. Leger blossomed.

“Buddy was a founding father of the NWPB and was actually its first president,” said Arney. “He had tons of connections and was instrumental in opening doors for the watermelon industry.”

One of those doors was in the nation’s capital, as Mr. Leger was a personal friend of former Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, having worked as an agriculture liaison for the Georgia Department of Agriculture when Perdue was governor of Georgia.

In fact, Arney said Mr. Leger was the first to know that Perdue would be appointed to the cabinet-level position before anyone else, including the major media outlets.

“When Sonny was appointed Secretary of Agriculture, I was very excited to meet him,” said Arney. “But obviously he had a very busy schedule so it was not easy. At one point, I had a meeting with the Foreign Ag Service in Washington to try to regain status in the MAP program, and I asked Buddy if he might be able to arrange a meeting with Secretary Perdue.

“Twenty-five minutes later, I received a call from Perdue’s assistant, asking which day I would be in Washington and what time I was available to meet,” Arney continued. “Sonny came and met with us just prior to his meeting with President Trump, and I brought a big watermelon to our meeting, which Sonny loved as a former watermelon farmer. Now I am fortunate to count Sonny as one of my good friends.”

Wayne Szabla of Stella Farms, who had known Mr. Leger for nearly 50 years, said, “When I think of Buddy Leger, one word comes to mind: Integrity.”

Szabla said he first became acquainted with Mr. Leger in 1978 when he joined Watermelon Depot in Chicago at the age of 24.

“I worked at R.H. Deitz on the Chicago market as a high school kid, and Leslie Gordon, who owned Watermelon Depot, saw that I was a hard worker and recruited me to join him because he was getting up in years and wanted someone to take over some of his duties,” said Szabla. “I eventually bought into Watermelon Depot and Buddy Leger was our main grower and supplier, so we got to know each other very well. When I joined MelonSource in 1988, I continued working with Buddy until I retired in 2019.

“We had a wonderful relationship for all those years, and he was a true mentor to me,” Szabla continued. “His philosophy was to always do what you say you are going to do, and I have lived by that every day of my career, and that has served me so well. He was a big part of my success and it was an honor to work with him and call him my friend.”

Szabla also noted the strong influence Mr. Leger had on the watermelon industry at large.

“He started the National Watermelon Promotion Board in the early 1990s and was the board’s first president, and he knew the direction the watermelon industry needed to go at that time,” said Szabla. “He was the point person for the industry in Congress and helped get legislation passed to move the watermelon industry forward. He was truly a treasure to our industry and he will be missed.”

William Watson, who was executive director of the NWPB from 1990 to 2003, worked closely with Mr. Leger during that time. “Once Buddy got involved in something, he wasn’t going to let go until it was done right. He was a great friend and a tremendous mentor, and I will miss him terribly.”

In addition to his son Greg, Mr. Leger is survived by his wife of 57 years, Marjorie Batchelor Leger; daughters Susan Leger-Boike and her husband Mark, Sherrie L. Leverett and her husband John, and Maria L. Coslett and her husband Bill.

He is also survived by grandsons Kelly Norton and his wife Stephanie, Morrie Whittington and his wife Ashley, Nick Leger and his wife Evangeline, and Cole Leger; and granddaughter Bailey Leger and her fiancé, Hunter Slade; and step-grandchildren Jarrett (Savannah) Leverett and Lauren Jones (Trey).  

Also surviving are great-grandchildren Rosario Norton, Zoe Norton, Ali Norton, Averie Whittington, and Eli Whittington; his siblings Jane L. Smith, Martha L. Hobbs, and Jack Leger and his wife Ann.

Mr. Leger was predeceased by his parents, sister Bernita L. Garner, and a son, Charles E. Leger.

A funeral service was held March 4 in Cordele, GA, which drew a standing room only crowd of family, friends and acquaintances from across the country.

“I was honored to be present at the memorial service,” said Arney of the NWPB. “The fact that there was such a tremendous turnout on relatively short notice is a testament to how important Buddy was to his family and friends as well as to the watermelon industry. I think people took for granted that he would always be there, and it’s still somewhat of a shock that he is gone. It’s a sad time, but also a happy time to celebrate his life and his contribution to agriculture.”

“My dad was very good to his family and he made me and my siblings who we are today,” said Greg Leger, who added that he shared a special bond with his father as the only child to follow in his footsteps into the agriculture business. “We were very close and very proud of each other, and that is something I will always cherish.”